Hawaii Daily News Read

Thursday, November 12, 2026

November 12, 2026 News Read

By Andrew Walden @ 5:48 AM :: 120 Views

Final Read -- 2026 Hawaii General Election Results

Katherine Kealoha to leave prison after serving fraction of 13-year sentence for robbing grandmother, orphans

HNN: … Katherine Kealoha, the former high-ranking deputy city prosecutor convicted of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction, will be moved this month from a federal prison to a halfway house years before her 13-year sentence is up….

Kealoha will be moved from the Victorville medium-security prison outside of Los Angeles to a federal halfway house in the Bay Area. The transfer is expected to happen next week….

Silvert said Hawaii no longer has a halfway house for federal prisoners returning to the state. (Good. Maybe they’ll stay on the Mainland.)…

Kealoha, her husband Louis Kealoha, the former Honolulu police chief, and two police officers were found guilty of conspiracy and obstruction in June 2019.

She stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her grandmother, the late Florence Puana, and from two kids under her guardianship.

Louis and the other officers were convicted for covering up the crimes.

Katherine Kealoha was additionally convicted of bank fraud and sentenced to 13 years in prison….

Katherine Kealoha’s 13 years equates to 156 months. She was detained right after the verdict in July 2019 and spent nearly a year and a half in custody before her sentencing in November 2020.

That gave her 17 months of credit.

Federal prisoners also get two months off for every year for good behavior. That reduced Kealoha’s sentence by another 26 months.

Under the First Step Act, inmates can earn additional time off by taking classes and helping others in the prison. Kealoha received 30 months of credit for that.

A one-year halfway house term starts this month. Kealoha then will be under home confinement until July 24, 2029, which is her release date.

After that, she will be on supervised release for three years….

Read … Katherine Kealoha to leave prison after serving fraction of 13-year sentence | Hawaii News Now

Why your electric bill can go up when there’s no “rate hike”

IM: … When most people hear “rate hike,” they think: my electricity costs more now. That makes sense. But when utilities and regulators talk about a rate increase, they usually mean something narrower: one part of your bill has been approved to go up.

Your electric bill isn’t one price. It’s more like a grocery receipt, and each line item goes up or down on its own schedule. Fuel and purchased-power costs pass through separate adjustment charges, and some approved projects are recovered through their own surcharges.

So your total bill can climb even in a year with no “rate hike” in the headlines. Rising oil prices or a newly approved grid project can raise it on their own. If you want to know why your bill changed, look at the line items, not just the base rate.

This fall, the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission held public hearings on five islands (Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Oʻahu) on Hawaiian Electric’s proposed “rebasing.”

Rebasing is a rate increase. Hawaiian Electric is asking to raise its combined annual revenues by about $170 million, or 5.3%, over what current rates bring in. That breaks down to about $112.2 million (4.9%) on Oʻahu, $28.4 million (5.8%) on Hawaiʻi Island and $29.3 million (6.4%) in Maui County. The increase would come in two steps: about $125 million starting January 1, 2027 and another $45 million on January 1, 2028.

Once both steps take effect, the companies estimate a typical residential bill would rise by about $11 a month on Oʻahu, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, $14 on Maui and $15 on Hawaiʻi Island. These are company estimates, and they depend on the Commission approving the request.

read … Why your electric bill can go up when there’s no “rate hike” | Ililani Media

US Congress Moves to Weaken NIMBYs—(they protest it)

HNN: … Native Hawaiian and environmental groups are pushing back against a federal permitting reform bill that supporters say would speed up energy and infrastructure projects and help lower costs.

Opponents say the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would weaken longstanding environmental and cultural protections. The measure advanced in a bipartisan procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on Monday.

The bill, S. 5653, would change the federal permitting process for a wide range of projects. Supporters say it would help address electricity costs ….

Makalika Naholowaʻa, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, said the bill would change protections developed over generations, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Clean Water Act….

“It’s very clear that they are rewriting generations of environmental protection and cultural preservation laws that have been developed in this country,” Naholowaʻa said.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands wrote letters opposing the bill.

Naholowaʻa said the bill creates uncertainty about opportunities for input on federally funded rebuilding in Lāhainā. She also said consultation by the National Science Foundation would not be required regarding the future of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Maunakea.

“You really are in some instances eliminating Native Hawaiian voices,” Naholowaʻa said.

(CLUE: The medium is the message. If this ‘medium’ is no longer available, noisy people will just change their message accordingly. They will find another way to seek attention.)

read … Native Hawaiian, environmental groups raise concerns over federal permitting bill | Hawaii News Now

Flight attendant Jenny Lupton's family disputes death ruling

WW: … "The family wants to know who did this to my sister," Jenny's sister, Tresa Lupton, told Oklahoma City's News 9. "We believe it was foul play, and we want to get to the bottom of it."

In a statement shared on a GoFundMe page established to support Jenny's family, Tresa detailed concerns about evidence ranging from her sister's phone records and DNA samples to hotel security records and the physical circumstances of her fall.

"Our concern is that conclusions are being reached without all the available evidence being fully evaluated," she wrote.

In her statement shared on the GoFundMe page, Tresa said the family had spoken directly with the Honolulu medical examiner and learned he had not received certain evidence that could be relevant to determining how Jenny died.

Tresa also told News 9 that the medical examiner acknowledged the autopsy findings alone could not establish whether Jenny's death was a suicide, an accident or the result of foul play.

"He said nothing in the autopsy could point to one or the other," she said.

The medical examiner "was very interested in getting the phone data and seeing who she texted, what she said, trying to get an idea of her state of mind," Tresa told News 9. "But he still made this ruling without that data."

Police had Jenny's phone since her death on August 20, Tresa said, but the family got conflicting information about whether investigators had been able to retrieve its contents.

"The medical examiner told us he had not received information from her phone because he was advised that investigators could not access it," she wrote.

Tresa also raised concerns about DNA evidence collected during her sister's autopsy, including samples taken from beneath her fingernails and a s***** assault evidence collection kit.

"We were told that DNA testing had not been performed because there was no known individual for comparison," she wrote.

The family wants to know what testing options are available and why the DNA evidence hadn't been tested, Tresa explained….

read … Flight attendant Jenny Lupton's family disputes death ruling

Maui homestead beneficiary alleges construction ‘nightmare,’ retaliation

HNN: … “The locks were changed, the water to the property was shut off and staff started telling me that I’m not allowed to be up here,” Caris said. “I never wanted this process to come this far, we thought we would be able to remedy the situation between myself as owner and Habitat as contractor, but we’re at the point where we need assistance and resolution.” ….

read … Maui homestead beneficiary alleges construction ‘nightmare,’ retaliation | Hawaii News Now

Amazon seeks approval for fulfillment center in Kapolei

KHON: … A special meeting is planned to discuss Amazon’s massive, proposed warehouse in West Oahu. The first step for the project is trying to win over the neighborhood board. But ~~some~~ (the usual suspects) are ~~skeptical~~ (whining) about the retail giant moving in.

The latest renderings of Amazon’s planned three-million-square-foot, five-story fulfillment center in Kapolei. Cost: about $600 million, with promises of creating a thousand more jobs in the state….

The board will hear back from a working group on the project and will vote on whether to allow Amazon a building variance. There’s a 60-foot height restriction for the area. Amazon is looking to go up to 99 feet….

The nine-member neighborhood board is mixed on the idea. Some are ‘concerned’ about the added stress on infrastructure, and the possible elimination of small businesses in the state.

Amazon said about 60% of the goods sold are from small businesses. They said they have already invested over a billion dollars in Hawaii since 2010 in their delivery station on Sand Island, infrastructure and pay for their 1,500 employees here.

In a statement, a spokesman said, “We’re proud of the investments we’ve made in Hawaii. And are always evaluating ways to bring our customers faster, more reliable delivery across the islands.”…

read … Amazon seeks approval for fulfillment center in Kapolei

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